


Hebrew Lessons

by TheEigthPillarGeneral



Category: The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Babysitting, F/M, Friendship Reconciliation, Hebrew Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22073266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEigthPillarGeneral/pseuds/TheEigthPillarGeneral
Summary: While Rameses and Nefertari go out on a date night, Moses and Tzipporah are in charge of babysitting their son Amun, who is also interested in learning some Hebrew from them.
Relationships: Moses & Rameses II (Prince of Egypt), Moses/Tzipporah (Prince of Egypt)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	Hebrew Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! I'm happy to be able to start 2020 with this fanfic. This modern-AU is something that I've been wanting to write, so I hope everyone enjoys it!
> 
> Some notes about this AU:  
> \- this takes place in Toronto, which is home to Canada's largest Jewish community; specifically, Moses and Tzipporah live in the Bathurst Manor neighbourhood, which is a majority-Jewish neighbourhood  
> \- Moses, Miriam, and Aaron are all Israeli immigrants; Moses is a paramedic, Miriam a Grade 1 schoolteacher, and Aaron a rabbi  
> \- Tzipporah is Ethiopian-Israeli, and she works as a kickboxing coach and fitness instructor  
> \- Rameses, Nefertari, and Amun are all Egyptian; Rameses is a company CEO, Nefertari a fashion designer, and Amun a Grade 1 student
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy!

The first thing Moses is greeted with when entering the apartment is the smell of shawarma, the whir of the vacuum cleaner, and the sound of Ofra Haza playing from the radio over the noise.

“I’m home, Tzipporah!” Moses calls, slipping off his shoes as he closes the door.

Tzipporah comes from around the corner, vacuum cleaner in hand, and still in her black exercise pants and blue tank-top from the gym. Upon seeing Moses, she smiles.

“Hey, you’re just in time,” she says, shutting off the vacuum cleaner. “Mind getting the shawarma out of the oven for me?”

“Of course!” Moses says, setting his work bag down.

He heads into the kitchen, shutting off the timer and putting on some mitts before opening the oven door. The hot air from inside the oven hits him as he pulls out the tray of freshly-cooked turkey shawarma and sets it on the counter.

Once he shuts off the oven and removes the mitts, Moses enters the living room, where Tzipporah is putting away the vacuum cleaner. “So, how was work?” he asks her.

“Oh, it was fantastic as always. And you?” Tzipporah asks.

“Nothing extreme happened today, which is a good thing, honestly.” Moses runs his hand through his hair. “The major incident today, though… that was when we got called down to Sheppard Plaza because of some brawl that broke out in front. One of the guys looked pretty roughed up, and he was still trying to keep fighting even while we were trying to get him into the ambulance.”

“Wow,” Tzipporah says, shaking her head slightly.

“Anyways, what about you? You made sure to remember that your classes were civilian gym-goers, right?” Moses teases her.

Tzipporah scowls slightly. “Come on, now. Who do you think I am?” she says, lightly punching Moses’ shoulder.

“I’m just teasing, you know.” Moses kisses her cheek. “Anyways, I think Amun might just love the shawarma tonight. After all, no one can resist your cooking.”

Tzipporah chuckles, gently tapping Moses’ shoulder. “Personally, I think Aaron is the better cook,” she admits. “Remember his matzah from the Pesach Seder? And his homemade latkes and sufganiyot from last year’s Hanukkah?”

“Right. No offense, but I have to say that no one else can beat his latkes,” Moses says with a chuckle. “He should make them again for this year’s Hanukkah, and maybe we can send Rameses and his family home with some latkes and sufganiyot.”

“Maybe,” Tzipporah agrees. “Alright, let’s go and get ready. Amun will be here in about half an hour, you said?”

“Yes, half an hour,” he confirms. “You want to shower first?”

“Yes, please,” Tzipporah says, sounding grateful. “I’ll try not to take too long.”

“Take all the time you need,” Moses tells her. 

As Tzipporah grabs a change of clothes and heads straight to the bathroom for her shower, Moses goes to the living room to get some games and activities set up for Amun.

It has been an eventful few months for Moses Haddad and Tzipporah Rubel-Haddad this past while. It all started when Moses had run into his old childhood friend from Egypt, Rameses Abdoullah, while out jogging at Bathurst Park. As it turns out, Rameses had just moved to Toronto with his wife and son, and was still getting used to the area. 

While the initial meeting had been somewhat awkward and tense, Moses had decided that he wanted to make things right and reconcile with his old friend, and what better way to do that than by helping Rameses adjust to his new home. And with tentative support from Tzipporah, Miriam, and Aaron, Moses and Rameses have both been taking baby steps in reconnecting with one another.

And it seems these little steps are beginning to pay off. Not only did Rameses and his family accept Moses’ invitation to come to Hanukkah next week, but he’s also asked Moses and Tzipporah to babysit his six-year-old son Amun while he and his wife Nefertari go out for dinner tonight.

Looking through their collection of board games, Moses sighs as he realizes that their options are rather… limited. There’s rummikub and backgammon, and even a two-hundred-piece puzzle that Miriam had given to them last year, but apart from those, most of their games are a bit too challenging for six-year-olds.

_ Hopefully he won’t get too frustrated with these…  _ Moses thinks, getting them out of the cabinet and setting them out on the coffee table, right as Tzipporah emerges from the bathroom, now in a blue blouse and jeans.

Shortly after he’s done, he goes for his shower, making sure to be quick before changing into a maroon button-up shirt and jeans. When he leaves the bathroom, he sees Tzipporah looking over at the games laid out on the coffee table.

“Will he have the patience for that puzzle?” Tzipporah asks, looking over the puzzle box. “It’s like, two hundred pieces.”

Moses shrugs. “If he gets bored, we can always move onto something else,” he says.

“Fair enough.” She glances at him as she sets it back down. “How have things been going with Rameses?”

“Well enough, I guess,” Moses says, sitting on the couch. “We may not be able to go back to exactly what we used to have, but if we can salvage what’s left, then that’s fine with me.”

Tzipporah nods. “I’m glad you think so, but be careful, alright?” she tells him. “I don’t want you to get hurt if things somehow end up going sour.”

“I think everything will be okay,” Moses reassures her. “Call it intuition or whatever, but I have a good feeling about this.”

By now, the sun has already set below the horizon, and the noise of the busy Toronto traffic can be heard from within the apartment. It’s quite a relaxed winter evening, and with the warmth of the apartment and the smell of freshly-cooked shawarma, it makes for a cosy night-in.

“You think Amun might want to watch a movie as well?” Tzipporah suggests, sitting down next to Moses and leaning against him.

“Maybe. We should ask him and see what he’d like to watch,” Moses agrees.

As if on cue, the doorbell rings. Moses immediately gets up and goes to open the door.

Waiting outside are Rameses and Nefertari, dressed in their fine evening clothes, and an excited Amun.

“Hello, come on in!” Moses greets with a smile.

“Good evening,” Rameses greets back as he, Nefertari, and Amun step inside the apartment. “Oh, something smells good here.”

Tzipporah smiles slightly. “Yes, I made shawarma for dinner tonight,” she says. “I do hope Amun likes it.”

“Uncle Moses!” Amun sounds absolutely thrilled, and Moses can’t help but smile at his excitement.

Rameses looks quite refined and sophisticated in his black tuxedo, befitting of a company CEO. And Nefertari looks very elegant in her turquoise evening dress, especially with her black coat and scarf over the dress.

“Thank you again for doing this,” Rameses tells him and Tzipporah sincerely. “We really appreciate it. Amun was also quite excited for tonight.”

“That’s good to hear,” Moses says, taking Amun’s jacket and hanging it in the closet. “Where are you eating out tonight?”

“An Italian restaurant called Carisma,” Nefertari says. “It has very good reviews, and we thought it would be a nice place for a date. Though, I’m already getting hungry just from the shawarma here.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard good things about that place,” Tzipporah says, chuckling. “And thank you.”

“Alright, Amun.” Rameses bends down to give him a hug. “Have fun with Uncle Moses and Auntie Tzipporah, alright? And be good.”

“I will, Father,” Amun says, hugging him back. “See you soon!”

“We’ll see you later,” Rameses says to Moses.

Moses nods. “Alright. Enjoy your dinner,” he says with a slight smile.

With that, Rameses and Nefertari leave the apartment, closing the door behind them.

Amun then uses this opportunity to look around the apartment, with a particular focus upon the photos in the living room.

Smiling at this, Moses approaches Amun. “So, how are you, Amun?” he asks. “Are you hungry right now? Because Auntie Tzipporah has made her world-famous shawarma for dinner tonight.”

“Well… I guess I am a bit hungry,” Amun admits.

“Then come,” Tzipporah encourages. “We’ll serve you some food right now.”

With that, Amun follows Moses and Tzipporah to the dining room, sitting down at the table while Moses sets out three glasses of water. Once those are set out, Tzipporah serves the shawarma, vegetables, and tahini sauce onto three plates, and they all sit down to eat.

Amun is the first one to have a piece of the turkey shawarma, and his eyes light up as he finishes his first bite. “This is delicious, Auntie Tzipporah!” he praises. “I love it!”

Tzipporah smiles. “Why, thank you,” she says. “Have you had shawarma before?”

“A few times,” Amun says. “But to be honest, I like hawawshi the most.”

Moses nods. “How is school going for you?” he asks.

“It’s going good!” Amun says cheerily. “I like it here. Everyone is very friendly, and my teacher is the best! Her name’s Ms. Haddad, and she’s really nice!”

_ Ms. Haddad? _ Moses and Tzipporah look at each other in pleasant surprise. 

“That's good to hear,” Moses says. “Your teacher is actually my older sister. I remember Rameses telling me about how he met her for parent-teacher conferences.”

Amun looks at him, amazed. “Whoa, really? That is so cool!” he says. “She said that she has two younger brothers, but I didn’t know you were one of them!”

The rest of dinner continues with Moses and Tzipporah asking some questions to Amun, who happily answers them. He tells them about school, his hobbies, and how he really likes his new home here, and they make sure to listen carefully to him.

Eventually, he starts to ask them questions.

“What do you work as, Uncle Moses?” Amun asks.

“I’m a paramedic,” Moses says. “That means I help take injured people to hospitals, so I’m usually very busy.”

“And what about you, Auntie Tzipporah?”

“I’m a kickboxing coach at a nearby studio,” Tzipporah says. “I also teach weightlifting and aerobic classes.”

Amun looks quite impressed at this. “How well can you fight?” he asks.

Tzipporah laughs. “I can hold my own, for sure,” she says. “But I’m not a professional fighter.”

When dinner is finished, Tzipporah serves some ice cream in a small bowl for Amun, who happily accepts it, regardless of the cold weather outside. While Moses helps Tzipporah with cleaning things up, Amun goes to the living room to look at the games set out on the coffee table.

_ “So far, so good,” _ Tzipporah says softly, switching to Hebrew.

Moses nods.  _ “He’s a good kid,” _ he says fondly, also speaking in Hebrew.  _ “I still can’t really believe that Miriam is his teacher. It all feels like some coincidence.” _

Tzipporah shrugs.  _ “Who knows?”  _ she says, putting the last dish on the drying rack.

Just as they finish clearing up, that’s when Moses sees Amun peeking into the kitchen, looking rather curious.

“What’s up?” Moses asks.

“What language is that?” Amun asks, setting his empty bowl and spoon on the counter. “I once heard Ms. Haddad speaking that same language during lunch break, when she was on the phone with someone.”

Pleasantly surprised at Amun’s interest, Moses answers. “We’re speaking Hebrew,” he says. “Me, Auntie Tzipporah, and my older sister and brother, we all speak Hebrew.”

Amun looks quite fascinated. “Can you teach me some Hebrew words?” he asks. “I want to try and speak it with Ms. Haddad.”

Moses and Tzipporah look at each other, quite impressed at the boy’s sincere interest. Perhaps it won’t be so bad to teach him a little bit of Hebrew, especially since he’s quite eager to learn.

“Of course,” Tzipporah says with a smile. “Uncle Moses and I will both teach you. Come, let’s go to the living room.”

A short while later, the three of them are all on the soft couch in the living room. Amun sits next to Moses and listens to him attentively as he explains a bit about the Hebrew language.

“To start off, Hebrew is written from right to left with a consonant-only alphabet. If there are vowels, we use niqqud, or dots,” Moses explains, opening up his notebook. “Here is an example of a sentence.”

He writes a simple sentence on the page, his pencil moving smoothly and neatly as he marks certain letters before finishing. “This is written in modern Hebrew,” he tells him. “That’s what Auntie Tzipporah, Miriam, my brother Aaron, and I speak. So we’ll be teaching you some basic phrases in modern Hebrew.”

Amun nods, listening intently. “It’s kind of like Arabic,” he says, looking pleased. “We don’t write our vowels, and we write from right to left as well!”

Tzipporah nods, smiling fondly at him. “Yep, that’s true.”

“So, to say both ‘hello’, we say, ‘shalom’,” Moses continues, writing it down.

“‘Shalom’,” Amun repeats.

“Good. To ask ‘How are you?’, we say ‘Ma shlomcha?’ if asking a man, and ‘Ma shlomech’ if asking a woman. And if asking in general, you say ‘Ma kore?’.”

Amun repeats both of them, and Tzipporah helps him correct his pronunciation of certain parts.

“When you want to introduce yourself, you say ‘Shmi…’ and then your name.”

“So… ‘Shmi Amun’?”

Moses smiles. “Exactly,” he says, writing down all the sentences. “And to say ‘nice to meet you’, you would say ‘Na’im me’od’.”

“Now, can you try saying all that in one sentence?” Tzipporah asks him.

_ “Shalom! Ma kore? Shmi Amun. Na’im me’od!” _ Amun says, looking hopeful.

“Good job!” Moses praises him, giving him a high-five. “You did very good, Amun!”

Amun grins, pleased and proud of himself. “Can you teach me some more?” he asks.

“Well, of course! But don’t you want to play a game or do a puzzle for a bit?”

“No, it’s fine,” Amun says, shaking his head. “I want to learn more Hebrew.”

Moses raises an eyebrow, mildly surprised, but he can’t stop himself from smiling. Even Tzipporah can’t hide the smile on her face.

“Alright. Hebrew it is,” Moses says with a smile. “Let me get some flashcards first, and then we’ll continue.”

So for the rest of the evening, both Moses and Tzipporah take turns with teaching Hebrew to Amun. Tzipporah teaches him colours, animal names, and body parts, while Moses teaches him other basic phrases and questions. They show him flashcards, and Amun writes down all the new words on the paper, with Moses helping him write out the Hebrew letters when he has trouble.

“Do you think Ms. Haddad will be impressed when I speak to her in Hebrew tomorrow?” Amun asks them, looking up from his paper.

“Of course she will,” Tzipporah reassures him. “But it looks like it’s almost time for you to go to bed.”

“I’m not tired, though…” Amun insists, even as his eyelids are drooping down. “You sound like Mother and Father.”

Moses chuckles. “Well, it is a school night,” he says, glancing up at the clock. “We’ve taught you quite a bit, so let’s stop now and let you wind down for the night, okay? Do you want to sleep in our bed, or on the couch?”

“The couch,” Amun concedes, rubbing his eyes as he climbs up onto the soft couch.

“Alright, then,” Moses says gently. “Good night, Amun.”

As he curls up and closes his eyes, Tzipporah puts a blanket over him while Moses gathers his vocabulary sheets and puts them all together. It seems like Amun falls asleep almost instantly, so Moses and Tzipporah try to be as quiet as possible when putting things away.

“Did Rameses say what time he’ll be back to pick him up?” Tzipporah asks quietly.

As if on cue, Moses feels his phone buzz in his pocket, and he pulls it out and glances at the screen. “He just texted now. Well, it’s actually Nefertari who’s texting,” he says. “They’re on their way right now.”

He texts back a response, letting them know that Amun is asleep before setting his phone down. A quiet sigh slips from his mouth, and Tzipporah gently wraps her arms around her husband’s shoulders.

“You alright?” she asks.

“Yeah,” Moses says, nodding. “I enjoyed this evening, really. Amun’s a good kid.”

Tzipporah glances at the sleeping Amun, a small smile playing at her lips. “He is,” she agrees, pulling away. “I wouldn’t mind babysitting for him again.”

“He kind of reminds me of how Rameses used to be when we were little,” Moses admits, smiling faintly. “A bit sheltered, but he’s got a good heart. Also very curious and eager to learn more.”

Tzipporah nods, looking rather thoughtful.

A short while later, while Moses and Tzipporah are cleaning up, the doorbell rings. Surprisingly, Amun doesn’t wake up.

When Moses opens the door, he smiles upon seeing Rameses and Nefertari outside. “Ah, you’re here. Come in,” he says. “Amun is sleeping on the couch.”

They both enter into the apartment, still shivering a little bit. “It’s cold out there,” Rameses says, his voice quiet so that Amun doesn’t wake up. “I don’t know how you manage to live in this kind of weather, Moses. Surely it becomes unbearable after a while?”

_ Very rarely. _ Moses thinks to himself, though he doesn’t say it out loud.

“You get used to it,” Tzipporah reassures. “How was the dinner?”

“Oh, it was fantastic,” Nefertari says. “Lovely ambience, and the food was excellent.”

“How was Amun?” Rameses asks.

“He was great,” Moses tells him, retrieving Amun's jacket from the closet. “He loved Tzipporah’s cooking, and he wanted us to teach him some Hebrew, so that’s what we did for most of the evening.”

Rameses raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he asks, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Well, I’m glad he had a good time with you. And we really appreciate you watching him for the night, Moses.”

“We also had a good time with him,” Moses says with a smile. “If you want to go out again in the future, we’ll be happy to watch over him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, then,” Rameses says, nodding slightly.

Carefully, he lifts a still-sleeping Amun in his arms, holding him close while Tzipporah gives Amun’s Hebrew lesson sheets to Nefertari. 

“I’m sure he’d like to take these home with him,” Tzipporah says.

“Oh, thanks.” Nefertari puts them into her purse. “Well, thank you again for taking care of Amun. We’ll be going home now. It’s a school night, after all.”

Moses nods. “Have a good night. Make sure you drive safe,” he says, escorting them to the door.

“Good night to you too,” Rameses tells them, right as he, Amun, and Nefertari leave the apartment.

Once the three of them are gone, Moses glances up at the clock. “Well… I’d say we’d better get to bed too,” he says, looking at Tzipporah.

“Good idea,” Tzipporah agrees.

Later on, as they lie in bed, trying to fall asleep, Moses lets his mind wander to the events from a few hours ago.

There’s still a rather tentative atmosphere between him and Rameses. However, it seems like this night has done some good in helping them with reconciliation, especially now that Amun has taken a liking to Moses and Tzipporah.

_ Perhaps there is some hope for us both.  _ Moses thinks to himself, right before he allows sleep to take hold of him.

* * *

The next day goes by much quicker than expected. Most of the calls that Moses has been dealing with are car accidents on icy roads, though thankfully, pretty much all the drivers and passengers in each call haven’t been brutally injured. Even then, the number of accidents thanks to the roads is quite baffling.

“You’d think that people would know by now that they should drive safely during the winter,” Moses says with a sigh, opening his locker.

“Eh. Holiday season always makes people forget about basic safety,” Kale Ibrahim, a volunteer EMT, says with a shrug. “Whether it’s the winter holidays, spring break, or summer vacation, people just forget.”

“At least there’s no raves or music festivals right now,” Marina Ricciarelli, the first responder, points out. “Remember the VELD festival this summer?”

“Oh god, don’t even get me started on music festivals!” Tulio García, the emergency care assistant, starts ranting. “You know how many people ended up in the back of the ambulance in the summer?!”

“Whoa, calm down, Tulio-”

“It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt in a drunken brawl! You’d think people have learned to drink responsibly after having it hammered into their heads in high school health class…”

Moses sighs. Once Tulio starts ranting about something, no one can stop him. And nothing gets that guy more riled up than the topic of music festivals, alcohol, and club drugs.

Right then, Moses hears his phone vibrating in his locker. Taking it out of his work bag, he notices the caller ID reading as Rameses. 

Mildly surprised, he takes the call, moving to a quieter area.

“Hello?”

_ “Ah, Moses,” _ Rameses greets.  _ “I just got back from a meeting with Amun’s teacher. She told me something that I thought was worth sharing with you.” _

“Is that so?” Moses asks, a little curious. “Why’d she call you for a meeting?”

_ “Apparently, during recess, Amun had tried to fight off some boys who were picking on one of his classmates,” _ Rameses explains.  _ “He tried telling them to stop, and when they didn’t, he called them some names and got caught by your sister. But the thing is… he called those boys names in Hebrew.” _

Moses blinks, raising his eyebrows. “Come again?”

Rameses laughs.  _ “I know, even I was surprised. I’m not mad, though. I’m pretty impressed,” _ he says.  _ “Apparently, Amun called them names like ‘donkey’ and ‘goat’ before telling them to leave his friend alone.” _

At that, Moses can’t help but laugh. To think Amun used his newfound knowledge of Hebrew to defend his classmates… really, he feels a little bit proud for him.

_ Wait till Tzipporah hears about this…  _ He thinks.

“Did he get in trouble?”

_ “No, your sister was more amused than upset. She also told me that Amun had approached her during lunchtime and spoke to her in Hebrew, and he told her about how you taught him those phrases.” _

Well, now he knows that he has to ask Miriam for the rest of the story.

“What did she tell him?”

_ “She told him that she appreciates him standing up for his fellow classmates, but try and end the conflict without resorting to name-calling. But I have to ask you something, Moses.” _

“Shoot.”

There’s a slight pause on the other end, and when Rameses speaks again, Moses is surprised to hear a slight uncertainty in his voice.

_ “Would you be willing to teach me some Hebrew as well?” _ he asks.  _ “So I can understand some of the prayers being recited next week?” _

For a moment, Moses is surprised. Rameses, interested in Hebrew? However, perhaps something like this can definitely help strengthen their reconciliation efforts, and even close the distance that’s come between them.

Moses smiles. “Of course,” he says. “I’d be more than happy to teach you, Rameses.”

On the other end, he can almost see Rameses’ relieved smile.

_ “Thank you. I’ll see you around, I suppose.” _

“You too.”

With that, Moses ends the call, his heart feeling a little lighter as he heads back to his locker.

And in this moment, it’s clear that there truly is some hope for him and Rameses.

**Author's Note:**

> This was kinda fun to write, and I do hope I can write some more one-shots in this AU. Some details may change in future one-shots (I may write some that involve Moses and Tzipporah's son Gershom), so this is kind of a test-run, you could say.
> 
> I hope everyone also managed to see the other Dreamworks Animated characters towards the end ;)
> 
> Please let me know how I did, and have a happy new year!


End file.
